Justices Won't Hear Challenge To Chicago Towing Practices

By Celeste Bott

The U.S. Supreme Court refused on Monday to take up the constitutionality of Chicago's vehicle booting, towing, impounding and disposal practices, with two justices expressing "serious concerns" over the idea of leaving the Seventh Circuit's blessing in place.

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Justices Decline To Consider Police Raid Takings Circuit Split

By Katie Buehler

The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to review a pair of cases that ask whether there is a police power exemption to the Fifth Amendment's takings clause, a question that has fractured the lower courts.

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Justices Asked To Resolve Nonsignatory Arbitration Split

By Caroline Simson

A trading firm is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to finally resolve whether an arbitrator or a court should decide the proper venue for a dispute involving a nonsignatory to an arbitration agreement, as it fights a Seventh Circuit opinion keeping a putative securities class action in court.

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Abbott Wins Bid To Move Ex-Worker's Bias Suit To Illinois

By Susan Smiley

Abbott Laboratories has convinced a Michigan federal judge that a former employee's sex discrimination and retaliation lawsuit belongs in Illinois. 

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Tyson Must Face Turkey Buyers' Claims In Price-Fixing Suit

By Bonnie Eslinger

An Illinois federal judge on Monday issued a sweeping summary judgment order in antitrust litigation over price-fixing allegations against turkey producers and a data collection company, ruling that direct-action plaintiffs can take some claims against Tyson and another company to trial while granting summary judgment to other defendants.

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Prior 5th Amendment Pleadings Complicate Mylan Testimony

By Bryan Koenig

Mylan can use deposition testimony from one current and one former executive in next year's price-fixing trial, a Connecticut federal judge ruled Friday, but state attorneys general can bring up the company "pulling the strings" in the witnesses' decision to testify after originally invoking the Fifth Amendment.

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FTC Sues To Block Playground Equipment Deal

By Matthew Perlman

The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking to block private equity-backed playground equipment maker PlayPower's planned acquisition of rival BCI Burke, alleging the move will drive up prices while decreasing quality and innovation.

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Calif. ICE Enforcement Docs Stay Out Of Ill. Suit, For Now

By Lauraann Wood

An Illinois federal judge handling a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's border patrol deployment during "Operation Midway Blitz" said Monday she won't let the state pursue records the government produced in California arrest-tactic litigation until she issues her impending dismissal ruling.

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BDO $1.3B ESOP Fight Dismissed On Standing Grounds

By Kellie Mejdrich

A Massachusetts federal judge on Monday dismissed a proposed class action against BDO USA alleging the accounting and tax advisory firm's $1.3 billion deal to create an employee stock ownership plan violated federal benefits law, holding the worker who sued couldn't show that the transaction injured him.

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Kagan: High Court 'Blinded Itself' To Election Ruling Effects

By Katie Buehler

U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan criticized her conservative colleagues' approach to deciding election law cases Tuesday, saying they often rule without considering the real-world consequences of their decisions. 

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Retired Judges Say DOJ's Ethics Complaint Is Meritless

By Courtney Bublé

A coalition of 61 retired federal judges has admonished the U.S. Department of Justice for filing a complaint against federal judges in Minnesota for speaking to a newspaper about the Trump administration's immigration crackdown in their state.

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Polsinelli Seeks Sanctions For 'Knowingly False' IP Suit

By Elliot Weld

Law firm Polsinelli PC has asked a Tennessee federal judge to sanction a medical device company for advancing what it says were "knowingly false and materially incomplete" positions in a suit accusing the firm of pursuing bad faith patent infringement claims on behalf of a client.

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'Petulant' Attorney Behavior Requires New Trial, 5th Circ. Says

By Cara Salvatore

The Fifth Circuit ordered a new trial Friday for a woman who was halted while speaking at a Louisiana local council meeting, saying defense lawyers for two council members threw "a skunk into the jury box" with a bevy of improper maneuvers.

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Feds Offer Up-Front Payments For Fraud Whistleblower Tips

By Lauren Berg

The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday announced the creation of a whistleblower incentive program offering up-front monetary awards for tips that lead to criminal fraud charges.

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Atty Used Legal Cred To Prop Up Ponzi Schemes, DOJ Says

By David Aaro

A Florida attorney was arrested Tuesday on charges of using his legal bona fides to help run two Ponzi schemes that swindled investors out of nearly $2 million, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

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Ex-NOLA Injury Atty Gets 32 Months For Staging Crashes

By Christine DeRosa

A former New Orleans personal injury attorney has been sentenced to 32 months in prison for his role in a scheme to fake vehicle accidents with tractor trailers and other commercial vehicles so he could pursue lawsuits and extract settlements.

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